James Crooke papers
Collection — Box: Single Folder Collections – 2005 box, Folder: Folder 001
Identifier: 02-05.0172
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of an oral history transcript of an interview with 2nd Lt. James J. Crooke, who served in World War II. Crooke served in the Army Air Corps with the 303rd Bomb Group in the European Theater (ETO).
Dates
- 1921-1945
- Other: Majority of material found within 1943
- Other: Date acquired: 12/15/2005
Creator
- Crooke, James (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open to all researchers.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish, exhibit, or broadcast works from the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience must be requested and granted in writing by the director of the Institute. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Institute on World War II as the owner of the physical items and the copyright holder. Possession of a copy of an item does not constitute permission to publish, exhibit, or broadcast it. The Institute on World War II and the Human Experience reserves the right to refuse permission to individuals and publishers who have not complied with its policies. Permission fees must be paid before images are provided. Please contact the director of the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience for current publication and duplication rates.
Biographical or Historical Information
James Crooke was born on April 11, 1921. Crooke was born in Pensacola Florida to James Joseph Crooke, Sr. and Claude Tresa Milstead Crooke. He graduated from Pensacola High School in 1939, and studied at the University of Florida until he was prompted to enlist following the invasion of Pearl Harbor in 1941. He went through 14 months of training at Ft. Myers, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; Maxwell Field, Montgomery, Alabama; Douglas, Georgia; Munroe, Louisiana, and Alexandria, Louisiana, for the Army Air Corps. He became a Second Lt. Navigator on a B-17 bomber.
Based out of Molesworth, England, Crooke then flew B-17s. He flew 30 missions with the Third Bomber Group, which flew many combat missions and took many losses. While on a bombing mission to Czechoslovakia, he was shot down over Germany and became a POW. He explains his POW experiences in which there were originally 6,000 U.S. captives, but by the time they were liberated by the Russians, the number of prisoners had increased to 10,000. He was a POW for eight months and did not get Red Cross packages because the Germans stole them. This was a violation of the Geneva Convention. He lost 25 pounds. After the war, he returned to the University of Florida and enrolled in the School of Architecture where he graduated in May 1950. He practiced architecture in Pensacola and the panhandle until retiring in the mid-1990s. He was married to his wife, Theresa, for 65 years, and had two daughters and multiple grandchildren and great grandchildren. James Crooke passed on January 7, 2013, in Pensacola, FL.
Based out of Molesworth, England, Crooke then flew B-17s. He flew 30 missions with the Third Bomber Group, which flew many combat missions and took many losses. While on a bombing mission to Czechoslovakia, he was shot down over Germany and became a POW. He explains his POW experiences in which there were originally 6,000 U.S. captives, but by the time they were liberated by the Russians, the number of prisoners had increased to 10,000. He was a POW for eight months and did not get Red Cross packages because the Germans stole them. This was a violation of the Geneva Convention. He lost 25 pounds. After the war, he returned to the University of Florida and enrolled in the School of Architecture where he graduated in May 1950. He practiced architecture in Pensacola and the panhandle until retiring in the mid-1990s. He was married to his wife, Theresa, for 65 years, and had two daughters and multiple grandchildren and great grandchildren. James Crooke passed on January 7, 2013, in Pensacola, FL.
Extent
1 folders
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement Note
Creator
Custodial History
This collection was donated by James Crooke. The collection was acquired by the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience on December 15, 2005.
- American Red Cross
- B-17 bomber Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Fort Myers (Fla.) Subject Source: Lcnaf
- Germany--History--1933-1945 Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- International Committee of the Red Cross. Central Agency for Prisoners of War
- Montgomery, Alabama Subject Source: Local sources
- Nashville (Tenn.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Prisoners of war Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Prisoners of war--Europe--Interviews Subject Source: Local sources
- United States. Army Air Forces
- United States. Army Air Forces--Military life Subject Source: Lcnaf
- United States. Army Air Forces. Bomb Group, 303rd Subject Source: Local sources
- United States. Army. European Theater of Operations
- University of Florida
- World War, 1939-1945 Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, American Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, American--Personal narratives Subject Source: Local sources
- World War, 1939-1945--Czechoslovakia Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- James Crooke papers
- Author
- Craig Whittington
- Date
- 03/20/2018
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Institute on WWII and the Human Experience Repository
Contact:
Florida State University
Room 401 BEL, 113 Collegiate Loop
Tallahassee FL 32306 US
850-644-9033
ww2@ww2.fsu.edu
Florida State University
Room 401 BEL, 113 Collegiate Loop
Tallahassee FL 32306 US
850-644-9033
ww2@ww2.fsu.edu